Max The IT pro » Linux

Best KDE Linux Distro?

MaxTheITpro — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:59:24 +0000

[Gachie, Kenya]
SO, WHAT’S THE BEST Linux distribution that delivers a high quality KDE experience? Well, I don’t really know since I’ve been a religious GNOME Desktop whore after my first experience with Ubuntu and now Linux Mint 8 (based on Ubuntu 9.10 – aka Karmic Koala) but SEXIER.

Mind you, I did take PCLinuxOS 2009.2 for a spin on a LiveUSB but I was not that impressed with its use (it’s a super reliable distro for Windows new commers though) of KDE 3.5, which looked and felt a little stale. You see, the word on the street is that KDE 4.3.x is AMAZING, and based on the screenshots I’ve seen lately, I’d have to concur.

On the other hand, I’m sort of hooked on GNOME’s minimal and functional elegance. In the past (around 1998 to 2004) when I was Linux distro hopping (Corel Linux, Xandros, Mandrake, the reliable Libranet, Puppy Linux, and Vector Linux), KDE was the superior desktop environment for Linux, and GNOME was out to lunch. But things have changed — big time! — for the GNOME project thanks to the deep pockets of Ubuntu’s backers (and razor sharp focus) as well as Novell’s technical expertise.

Anyhow, I suggest you read this article and decide which desktop Linux distro has the best KDE setup.

Get the best KDE Linux distro

Cheers!

2010 is the year of Desktop Linux

MaxTheITpro — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:57:29 +0000

[Gachie, Kenya]
YOU MAY NOT know it, but when you cruise the Net to read your mail on Yahoo, GMail, Hotmail (ran on FreeBSD before Microsoft purchased it), Mail2Web, or from your ISP (via POP3/IMAP), you’re mostly using a free mail server (qmail, Exim, Postfix, or Sendmail) that’s either running on Linux (CentOS, Red Hat, Debian, SUSE, Slackware, et al) or rock-solid BSD Unix variants such as NetBSD, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD. And what do you think Google is running their profitable multi-billion dollar Search engine business on? Linux!

Great Linux desktops a plenty…
Yes, we know Linux has been a huge success on the server side of things. But thanks to free sexy desktop user interface projects such as KDE and GNOME — as well as Xfce and Fluxbox for older PCs — Linux looks just as good (or better) than XP, Vista, Mac OS X or Windows 7. And things are getting better each and every day.

As a result, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, PCLinuxOS, OpenSUSE, SimplyMEPIS, Puppy Linux (great for old desktops and laptops that run XP slooowly!) and other distros are stepping up to the plate with fabulous desktop solutions for the home or office user. Anyhow, I expect to see some great developments from KDE (4.x) and GNOME (version 3.0) in 2010 that will make more users abandon Windows for good.

Related links

Raiden’s Realm – Review: Linux Mint 8
From Ubuntu to Linux Mint
My Ubuntu Linux desktop before I moved to Linux Mint
Ubuntu Linux rocks!!!
GNOME desktop screenshots via Google Image Search
ComputerWorld: Ubuntu 9.10 Better Than Windows
Choosing a desktop Linux distro (2006 article at DesktopLinux.com)

From Ubuntu to Linux Mint

MaxTheITpro — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:43:41 +0000

[Gachie, Kenya]
WELL, IT’S OFFICIAL, I’m now a big fan of the amazing Linux distro called Linux Mint. You see, it’s based on the fabulous work that Ubuntu (which is based on Debian) has already done; that is, making Linux easy for the masses to use, install and manage — just like Windows XP (I hear Vista & Windows 7 are a “lengthy” nightmare to install).

So, you can look at Linux Mint as a more polished (take a peek at my Mint 8 desktop above!) and kinder, gentler version of Ubuntu that simply does EVERYTHING right out of the box, like:

Playing any video or music format (DivX, Windows Media Audio/Video, Ogg, and tons more that I didn’t know existed).
Detecting your Nokia celly so you can connect to the Internet with it (on XP you have to download Nokia PC Suite to do this!).
Detecting all of your hardware and installing the proper drivers during the install process without you even noticing.
Setting up Flash in Mozilla Firefox right off the bat.
Ditto for Java!
Plus lots of other “little” things that make you say, “Wow!”

Suffice to say, I heart Linux Mint. Really. Things just work on my laptop — or on any other old or new system that I’ve test driven it on. Ya don’t believe me? Well, take a peek at the following screen shot where I’m running the ever popular (and FREE) Evolution email client that was given to the community by Novell. It can connect to my GMail via IMAP or POP3 — and it’s sooo slick. By the way, it’s touted as an Outlook killer in every way — except for all those annoying Outlook bugs. Well, you know deal when you’re using Microsoft products. Oh, Evolution can even connect to a Microsoft Exchange mail server, too.

Of course I do this to show peeps down here that Linux Mint is a better alternative to Windows from this point of view:

Your system is responsive and runs fast since it’s not saddled with layers and layers of archaic, proprietary Windows “technologies” that have, unfortunately, become a nightmare (or headache) for Microsoft in order to maintain backward compatibility — ie. millions and millions of lines of bloated Windows programming code going back to Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, XP, Vista and now Windows 7. I truly feel sorry for Microsoft on that note! Have you ever wondered why Windows XP, Vista or 7 takes up so much damn hard disk space?
No chance in Hell of catching a virus, trojan, or worm that’s so prevalent on the Windows “platform”. I really believe Symantec, McAfee, Kaspersky, Esset, Trend Micro, Panda, Grisoft and other well known Windows antivirus software companies just love the insecurity that’s built into the Windows architecture starting from the late 1980s to the present — all the way to the bank. If they had to depend on Linux, OS X, or a popular BSD Unix variant like NetBSD, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD, they’d all go out of business. No sh!t.
Easy system updates and software installation thanks to its remarkable Debian lineage.

Related links

10 Important Linux Developments

MaxTheITpro — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:49:06 +0000

[Gachie, Nairobi, Kenya]
NOW THAT I’VE become a Linux whore, I thought I’d share a really important post that highlights some key Linux developments courtesy of IBM’s DeveloperWorks website.

10 important Linux developments
everyone should know about

Are you looking for an amazing Linux Desktop experience? Well, I highly recommend the latest releases of the following FREE Linux distros:

To conclude, you simply can’t go wrong using one of the highly acclaimed Linux distributions listed above. Just download the .iso file, burn it to a blank CD, and reboot your PC. In my opinion, they all put Windows XP and Vista to shame.

Ubuntu Linux rocks!!!

MaxTheITpro — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:50:44 +0000

[Gachie, Kenya]
NOW THAT I’VE abandoned Windows XP — I’m not really interested in Windows 7, and I wasn’t that stupid to give Vista a chance! — my computing life is so much more serene. Why? Because I’m running the latest FREE Ubuntu Linux (ver 9.10 – aka Karmic Koala) on a Toshiba L305 lappie. And ya know what? “Like Hell I’m going back to headaches a la Windoze. Nope, I’m done — for good.” I just have one thing to say to myself: “Max, you idiot!!! What took you sooo long? Moron!”

Ubuntu 9.10 Feature Tour

Now, I can’t live one second without my fabulous and FREE IrfanView graphics app from my good Net pal, Irfan Skiljan, all the way from former Yugoslavia. He’s such a kool dude who now resides in Austria. Anyhow, he was way ahead of his time back around the mid 1990s when he developed what was then a landmark program. I’ve been using it for about 10 years now.

IrfanView was the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple (animated) GIF support. One of the first graphic viewers WORLDWIDE with Multipage TIF support. The first graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple ICO support. {source}

The only problem I have with Irfan is that his addictive program only works on Windows. Doh!!! No worries though. Thanks to Sun Microsystems’ unbelievable FREE VirtualBox application, I can run Windows, various flavours of BSD Unix (ie. FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD), various Linux distros, and more as though they were installed on separate computers — all on my laptop. This, folks, is called virtualization and in this particular market, big names like VMWare, Parallels Desktop, Xen and others reign supreme. But VirtualBox holds it own against all of them. And did I mention its FREE, FREE, FREE? Heck, it seems like the best things in computing these days are FREE.

With my dual core Pentium processors, I can run XP via VirutalBox inside the protective confines of Ubuntu Linux and NOT ever have to worry about all the crap that goes with running XP on a standalone machine. Now, if I “catch” a nasty virus on my USB flash drive, no worries. I merely insert it on the Linux side in the Nautilus file explorer and delete em. Try that on Windoze!

Screenshot
Take a peek at my Ubuntu Linux desktop (as the host operating system) running Windows XP (as a guest operating system). You see, XP is just another program. I can suspend it and restart it later or take a snapshot for backup purposes. I’m loving this!!!

* Update *

Well, I’ve moved from Ubuntu to the amazing Linux Mint distro which is simply a more “polished” version of Ubuntu. I’m lovin’ it! (13 comments so far)

Xandros Desktop Linux – the real deal?

MaxTheITpro — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:09:00 +0000

Say hello to Xandros
Folks, I’ve been following this amazing Linux distro and I just keep getting dizzy the more I read and use it. Of course, there’s also the excellent free edition which is available for download. So far, I’ve never had any problems whatsoever with the product, and the fact that it’s based on Debian Linux – the largest community-supported distro on the planet – means that it’s rock-solid under the hood.

Superior craftsmanship
One thing that really impressed me about this distro is the company’s attention to details. Never have I seen another Linux (or BSD desktop variant) product that is well crafted from top to bottom. Everything just works well…that’s all I can say!!

To get an idea of what they’re about, take a peek at this Q & A on OSNews.com with a Xandros executive:

OSNews: In what ways Xandros Desktop’s KDE differs from a stock/default KDE installation? What tools/features Xandros have added/modified? In what way the default KDE UI was modified?

Michael Bego (Xandros): We have touched almost every single KDE app that we are shipping. For KDE apps, we have concentrated mostly in fixing usability problems, app crashes, or features that just do not work or are missing. Up to today, we have discovered and fixed well over 1000 of these bugs/enhancements in KDE. In a way, our enhanced KDE Desktop is more stable and more user friendly than the stock KDE from an average user’s view point. On top of that, we have added our own Xandros File Manager which, in our opinion, will cater better to someone that is an average Windows users. We have also added several control panel modules that will make an end user’s configuration experience much simpler and smoother than the competition as ours are all tightly integrated with the KDE Control Center. In most other distros, the end user are usually very confused as they have to do their configuration from two to three different tools. There are also many other features that we have added to Xandros Desktop 1.0 – User Switching and Time Based User Login Control are just a couple that come to mind.

KDE has always been an excellent desktop choice. However, it is always lacking the tight integration with the underlying operating system since KDE is designed to run on almost any favours of UNIX. We, at Xandros, have completed this tight integration so any low level operating systems events will be handled nicely with our enhancements. For example, by plugging an USB storage device into the USB port, the device will immediately be available in the Xandros File Manager. The user can then manipulate the files on the USB storage device use the same drag and drop technique that one uses on hard drives…

As you can see, this company’s playing for keeps! Everything they do is very methodical and well-thought out. You’ll also be pleased to note that Xandros is based on Corel Linux, which was way ahead of its time around 2000. {Too bad Corel got into deep “doo doo” by purchasing WordPerfect for $900 Million along with Borland’s Quattro Pro and Paradox, which ultimately lead to their downfall.}

Say goodbye to buggy software
To conclude, I urge you to take Xandros Linux for a spin! You’ll feel just as though you were running Windows XP (or Windows 2000) with the exception of not having to run Windows Update in order to avoid all of the nasty surprises (spyware, trojan horses, viruses, etc.) that currently plague Bill’s (Gates) empire. In this case, “better them than us” is a phrase to behold.

And how can you not fall in love with these sexy screenshots?

Seeing is believing!

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Related links:

Xandros Desktop–Not Your Father’s Linux Distribution
Xandros Desktop OS 3.0: A Solid, Modern Replacement for a Windows Desktop
Linux in Government: Linux Desktop Reviews, Part 1 – Xandros Business Edition
DistributionWatch Review: Corel Linux
Ubuntu (another excellent FREE desktop Linux distro that’s the talk of the open source community – especially outside of North America)
Linux Help – For all your Linux needs